July 21, 2019

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus visited the home of Martha and Mary. This story is in the Gospel of Luke because the Holy Spirit wants to teach us something. It is about our relationship to Jesus and our relation to other Christians as we live in the church community. In the church there are people like Martha, Mary, and Jesus, too. First, let’s see how we are like Martha.

Jesus came to Martha’s house and as hostess she was naturally busy with hospitality. She was busy in the kitchen and serving her guest. She had no time to sit and enjoy the message of Jesus. In our congregations, there are many jobs and many Marthas. In a very large church, there is a whole army of ushers and greeters and musicians and people who prepare the refreshments. These jobs are good and important, but the problem is when people get busy with these things and so cannot join the worship and hymns and cannot listen to the Bible readings and sermon. A bigger problem is when people would rather be the parking lot attendant than join the worship. Then we have a faith problem. Something that I have heard in our congregation for many years is the complaint of parents who say, “I have to take care of my restless children and so cannot listen to the sermon.” They are Martha wanting to be Mary.

Sometimes we are like Mary, but not always. Mary was excited to have Jesus as a guest in her house. She sat at Jesus’ feet, like a child listening to a story book. She was eager to hear Jesus. Like Mary, some people sit in the front pew of the church because they do not want to miss what is being said. Sometimes it is just that they are hard of hearing, or they could also just sit near a loudspeaker. When Jesus came, Mary was excited. When there is a guest preacher, we are excited about what they might say. We are curious how they will present the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a new, interesting way. The opposite of Mary would be those people who sleep during the sermon or read a book or daydream. Before becoming a pastor, I slept through many sermons, or daydreamed. I did not even give the preacher a chance, I assumed it would be boring and not about me. So I tuned out and waited for the Lord’s Supper. I really think that it is a gift of the Holy Spirit to be like Mary. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit to want to hear the Gospel. It is a thirsting for the Word of God. It is a hungering to hear the clear, sweet Gospel of forgiveness for me and salvation for me. There is also skill needed to understand a sermon. As we grow in our knowledge of the Bible and the Catechism and have various experiences in our lives, we see how God is speaking to us. And sometimes, if we do not hear the Gospel in a sermon or Bible study, we have to add it. We say, “If I were giving the message today, I would say such and such to bring the cross of Jesus into my life.”

Sometimes we are like Jesus. We are the ones who are speaking the Word of God, the Law and Gospel. We are the preacher, the Sunday school teacher, the Bible class participant, the parent, the friend, and the coffee-hour participant. In Seminary we have sermon classes. But you do not need to worry about being an elegant speaker, because when we speak the Word of God, the Holy Spirit is with us.

Jesus came to the home of Mary and Martha, but Jesus was the host and they were like his guests. Martha thought that she was preparing food for Jesus, but Jesus served them a meal of the Word of God. Mary had filled up the plate of her heart; she had chosen the best food from his table, not Martha’s. That is how I understand the words of Jesus. “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Or as Jesus spoke to the devil in the wilderness, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God' " (Mt.4:4).

This is why we study the Bible. It is like a buffet for our souls. There are many different styles of writing in the Bible and different messages for different times in our lives. Also in the Christian Church there are hymns and praise songs and prayers and artwork and acts of love and sacraments and fellowship. We need a balanced diet. Like Psalm 23 says, Jesus prepares a table for us and invites us to his feas now and for eternity.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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